Friday, May 16, 2014

Man Accused of Blasphemy In Pakistan Killed While In Police Custody

In Pakistan today, a 65-year old man who had been accused of blasphemy was shot dead by a teenager. According to Reuters:

Victim Khalil Ahmad was a member of the minority Ahmadi community, a sect who say they are Muslim but whose religion is rejected by the Pakistani state.

Ahmad and three other Ahmadis had asked a shopkeeper in their village in central Pakistan earlier this week to remove inflammatory stickers denouncing their community.... In retaliation, the shopkeeper filed blasphemy charges against the four men on May 12. Ahmad, a father of four, was in police custody when the teenage boy walked in, asked to see him, and shot him dead....